AviationMin discussing the ‘boundary’ of no fly list

“We need to ensure that a no-fly list is not used arbitrarily. After all, the initial decision to ban the passenger will be that of the airline before it is deliberated upon by a committee constituted by it,” a senior aviation ministry official said.

In the draft norms, the ministry had proposed three levels of severity of unruly behaviour, based on which three durations of prohibition on flying were recommended — three months, six months and indefinitely.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is in process of finalising the rules for the proposed no-fly list, the draft of which was floated in May, is holding internal discussions to define a “boundary” beyond which an unruly passenger would be put in the list.

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“We need to ensure that a no-fly list is not used arbitrarily. After all, the initial decision to ban the passenger will be that of the airline before it is deliberated upon by a committee constituted by it,” a senior aviation ministry official said.

“Discussions are going on to decide the boundary of the no-fly list. While inside a flight, there’s no access to security agencies, but if there are acts of vandalism inside the airport then there are provisions under the Indian Penal Code to deal with those incidents,” the official added.

In the draft norms, the ministry had proposed three levels of severity of unruly behaviour, based on which three durations of prohibition on flying were recommended — three months, six months and indefinitely.

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Once the jurisdiction or the boundary beyond which the no-fly list could be invoked is defined, the official said, there would be a need to sensitise crew members on when and where to provision to bar a passenger from flying, will apply.

According to the draft rules, immediately after an act of misdemeanour by a passenger, an airline can prohibit the passenger from flying with it for ten days. Within these ten days, a committee constituted by the airline will deliberate on the matter and give its decision on whether to bar a passenger and for how long.